Finding skilled talent in today’s competitive job market can be challenging, and the hiring process often requires significant time and effort. To attract qualified candidates and streamline recruitment, many organizations are now leveraging recruitment agencies and alternative staffing solutions.

Recruitment agencies assist organizations by sourcing and vetting candidates, presenting the best talent to hiring managers, and filling open positions efficiently.

If you’re thinking about partnering with a recruitment agency, here’s a concise guide to what you need to know:

• How a recruitment agency operates.
• Typical duties of a recruitment agency.
• Different types of recruitment agencies.
• How to select the right recruitment agency.

How a Recruitment Agency Works

Choosing the right recruitment agency can streamline your hiring process and help you find skilled workers more efficiently. As with any business partnership, it’s crucial to understand how the agency works and to prepare for effective discussions with potential partners.

Here are some typical steps involved in collaborating with a recruitment agency:

1. Identifying Business and Recruitment Needs
Assess the skills gaps and roles that need to be filled to meet your broader business goals. Determine the hard and soft skills necessary for each position and decide whether you need full-time, in-house employees or independent professionals. Prepare detailed job descriptions based on this analysis to share with potential agencies. Although some agencies can assist in crafting job descriptions, providing them with comprehensive information upfront is beneficial.

2. Choosing and Evaluating an Agency
Search for an agency that aligns with your recruitment needs based on the criteria you’ve defined. Key factors to consider include their industry expertise, track record, recruitment methods, pricing structure, and client feedback. Inquire about their timeline for filling positions, as a swift placement can prevent productivity losses due to skill shortages.

3. Negotiating Terms and Finalizing the Contract
Ensure that the payment and contract terms with the recruitment agency fit within your budget and legal requirements. Agencies may operate on a retainer basis or charge a percentage of the hired candidate's salary. Some offer a guarantee period, during which they will replace a candidate if the initial hire doesn’t meet expectations within a specified timeframe.

4. Reviewing Candidate Profiles
After establishing expectations, the agency will handle the sourcing and screening of candidates, allowing your internal team to focus on other strategic tasks. You will receive profiles of the most qualified candidates for your review and consideration.

5. Making Final Hiring Decisions
Working with a recruitment agency can sometimes make the process feel less personal. While agencies strive to match candidates to your needs, it’s crucial for your internal team to interview top candidates and make the final hiring decisions to ensure a successful fit.

Common Responsibilities of Recruitment Agencies

The responsibilities of a recruitment agency in Malaysia can vary based on your organization’s staffing needs and the specific agency you select. In some arrangements, the agency manages the entire recruitment and hiring process, while in others, the organization remains more involved and retains greater control over the process.

Here are some typical responsibilities that a recruitment agency might handle:

• Posting opportunities on job platforms. Established recruitment agencies maintain a list of top talent sourcing channels where they post open jobs or projects. Channels may include the agency’s jobs page, agency newsletters, social networks, networking groups, traditional job boards, and industry-specific job boards. If you have a specific sourcing channel or job platform in mind, consider requesting that the agency include the channel in their sourcing process.


• Building relationships with talent. In addition to attracting new prospective applicants using traditional sourcing channels, experienced recruitment professionals often have strong existing networks of qualified talent. By building relationships with skilled professionals over time, the recruitment agency may already have an ideal individual in mind when they begin the search.


• Interviewing and evaluating talent. When recruitment agencies receive applications, they conduct one or more interviews to filter out individuals who aren’t a fit and determine top talent with whom your team should meet directly. Some recruitment agencies may also have talent assessments or other related steps in the process to more effectively identify qualified individuals.


• Facilitating final interviews with hiring managers. After evaluating candidates, the recruitment agency shares a shortlist of top talent and schedules final interviews with internal teams. This helps eliminate the back and forth often required between prospective team members and hiring managers to confirm availability.


• Extending offers and handling negotiation. Once a decision is made, the recruitment agency reaches out to the individual with the company’s job offer. They also serve as an intermediary for any negotiation discussions, which can save your team time and support an engaging experience, as candidates will have one point of contact throughout the entire process.


• Overseeing onboarding and administrative paperwork. While some agencies are exclusively recruitment-focused and only involved until a worker is hired, others offer full-service staffing services. Full-service agencies manage onboarding and related paperwork, including payroll and benefits, for the duration of worker’s time with a company.

Types of recruitment agencies

Selecting a recruitment agency in Malaysia isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach and several options are available to support your organization’s short- and long-term hiring objectives.

Types of recruitment agencies include, but are not limited to:

• Traditional Recruitment Agencies: These agencies primarily focus on matching candidates with companies across various industries and sizes. They typically offer services for filling a range of roles, including temporary, contract, contract-to-hire, and permanent positions.


• Temp Agencies: As implied by their name, temp agencies connect businesses with talent for short-term, project-based, or temporary work. Companies often use these agencies to manage increased workloads or seasonal demands, such as hiring extra staff during tax season for an accounting firm or additional workers during the holiday season for a retailer.


• Contingency Recruitment Agencies: Organizations often engage contingency agencies or independent recruiters to fill specific roles, with the payment structure based on success—typically referred to as “no win, no fee.” The agency only receives compensation if a successful placement is made.


• Staff Augmentation Agencies: These agencies specialize in providing qualified, temporary workers with in-demand skills. While traditionally focused on technology roles, staff augmentation agencies now offer talent across a wide range of fields.


• Specialized Agencies: When companies need talent with expertise in a particular industry or niche, they turn to specialized agencies. These agencies have in-depth knowledge of specific sectors, such as technology, marketing, or design, and often focus on specialized roles, including executive and leadership positions.


• Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Agencies: An RPO agency acts as an extension of a company's in-house recruiting team. Organizations might use RPO services during periods of high-volume hiring or when they lack a dedicated recruitment or HR team. RPO agencies sometimes use the company's existing recruitment processes and technology rather than their own.

How to choose a recruitment agency in Malaysia

Your team is crucial to your business's success, so choosing the right recruitment agency is an important decision that requires careful thought.

Look for an agency that aligns with your industry needs, fits your budget, and enhances your overall recruitment process.

• When evaluating different recruitment agencies, consider asking the following questions:
• What is the agency’s area of expertise?
• What specific services does the agency provide?
• How skilled and diverse is the agency’s talent pool?
• What experience does the agency have in filling roles within your industry or those matching your skill requirements?
• What is the agency’s pricing structure, and does it align with your budget?
• Can the agency tailor its services or pricing to meet your organization’s unique needs?
• What does the agency’s sourcing and recruitment process entail?
• What is the agency’s estimated or guaranteed timeline for filling positions?
• What is the agency’s reputation based on client feedback, worker reviews, or industry awards?
• How does the agency address placements that do not work out as expected?
• In what ways will the agency enhance or add value to your current recruitment process?

At Corford Asia, our recruiters can streamline this process for you, handling the entire screening process to ensure that every recommended candidate aligns perfectly with your specified job profile. This approach not only saves your time on sourcing and screening but also guarantees that you receive candidates who match your criteria in terms of skills, personality, and experience, ensuring your satisfaction.

Feel free to drop us the message if you need any recruitment support: jin@corfordasia.com